Ashok Khade, the managing director of DAS Offshore Engineering Private Limited, has been conferred the Padma Shri for 2026 in the trade and industry category, an honour that celebrates one of India's most striking entrepreneurial journeys.
The Ashok Khade Padma Shri recognition rewards a rise from acute poverty to the leadership of a company that serves the offshore oil and gas sector, and Khade dedicated the award to his mother and family, crediting their sacrifices for his success.
His story has long been held up as an example of what is possible against the odds, and it resonates well beyond the world of heavy engineering.
A childhood shaped by hardship
Khade was born around 1955 in Ped, a village in the Tasgaon area of Sangli district in Maharashtra, into a Dalit family.
